Bill Requiring Paid Sick Leave in Calif. Passes Committee
San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 2008
SACRAMENTO (AP) - A bill requiring paid sick leave for California workers has been approved by a state Assembly committee.
The measure by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma cleared the Labor and Employment Committee on Wednesday with a 6-2 vote.
It would enable workers to qualify for up to nine days of paid sick leave a year. Employers with fewer than 10 employees would have to provide up to five days annually.
Ma, a San Francisco Democrat, says nearly six million California workers do not have paid sick leave now, forcing them to choose between going to work ill or losing pay.
She predicts the bill will save businesses money by reducing turnover, preventing co-workers from becoming ill and increasing productivity. But the National Federation of Independent Businesses opposes the bill, predicting it would cost jobs.
The measure now moves to the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
Poll Shows California Voters Support Paid Sick Days Law
Three in four (73 percent) California voters are in favor of a law allowing all workers to earn paid sick days, according to a statewide survey released on August 5, 2008. The poll was conducted by the Field Research Corporation for the California Center for Research on Women and Families (CCRWF), a program of the nonprofit Public Health Institute. Support for such a law crosses party lines and includes 85 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of non-partisans and 56 percent of Republicans.
CA Paid Sick Days Bill Will Boost Public Health: New Report
A research report released on July 30, 2008 shows that the proposed California paid sick days legislation will have significant positive public health impacts. The report entitled A Health Impact Assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008 was produced by Human Impact Partners and researchers at the San Francisco Department of Health.
» Report Summary 
» Full Report
Valuing Good Health in California: The Costs and Benefits of the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008
Executive Summary
Full Report
Testimony on the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act
Rajiv Bhatia, MD, MPH
Online Rally for Healthy Families
Call on Congress to support paid sick days! Share your own story about why paid sick days are important to you and your family!
August 5, 2008
POLL SHOWS CALIFORNIA VOTERS SUPPORT PAID SICK DAYS LAW
Findings follow new research showing positive public health benefits of AB 2716